Depends. If you order true absinthe (with wormwood), you could probably get pinched. The majority of the stuff sold online has no hallucinogenic properties and would probably be allowed in the country.

A Korean tour guide friend of mine brought back a bottle from Prague last time she went there and had no problems at customs. From what I understand, it depends on if it contains the mostly banned substance wormwood.

I knew a girl that used to brew her own. She used to work at a natural foods store (I'm pretty sure she got the wormwood there). I always wanted to try it- after reading a few Hemingway novels (hell, even 1 will do it) you're hotwired for it.

How To Make Absinthe
One ounce dried chopped wormwood
One tablespoon angelica root
One teaspoon hyssop
One half teaspoon coriander seeds
One quarter teaspoon caraway seeds
One pinch cardomon pods
One pinch fennel or anise seeds
One liter vodka

You would need a still and knowledge of how to blend the ingredients properly to produce real absinthe. This will give you an idea of what the effects of thujone and alcohol feel like, but the result is not genuine absinthe.

In a glass container add the wormwood to the vodka. Set aside in the dark for ten days. For extra-powerful absinthe, use Everclear or 151 rum instead of vodka. This will give you a green-colored tincture (the green comes from the chlorophyll, and does not indicate the presence of the active ingredient, thujone).

100 proof vodka works good. too. Then strain out the wormwood and add all the remaining herbs and spices. Wait four more days, then strain these out and serve. Best when drank straight in short shots with water chasers. If trying Everclear (actually not recommended), dribble a little in a tall glass with ice and sour mix or cranberry juice.

If anyone makes it, I'd like to know how it turns out. I'll just live vicariously through you all....

There's wormwood in Korea. It's called yaksuk in Korean. It's used to make ricecakes, among other things.

I wonder if there will be a sudden surge in (yaksuk) ricecake consumption among English teachers To the OP, I googled some Absinthe distributors, and I'm sure you can get it through customs (provided it's not titled cannabis vodka). Hell, if wormwood is used here in Korea, I doubt it would count as a banned substance in this country. If anything, you might get a call from customs (I've been called many times to be asked exactly what was in a parcel, even though the contents were displayed on the paperwork). Worst case scenario is that they'll send it back to the merchant and you'll get a refund.

I have been meaning to start a thread on this.
Expats and Absinthe, how much more Hemingway-esque can you get?

I also brought a bottle back from Prague around 6 years ago. Had no problems through customs in Madrid, London, Chicago, Vancouver, and Seoul.

Some questions. Does it go bad? I mean, like schnapps would. Also, has anyone actually drunk it? How much? And what are the intoxication levels, compared with, say, tequila shots or a glass of Scotch on the rocks? I've heard there is some hallucinogenic aspect to it. Can anyone describe what this means in greater detail? Also, about preparing it- something about a sugar cube and an upturned spoon?

It's been sitting in my liquor cabinet for years, just staring at me, mocking me. I need to wrestle her down and bring her to the mat. I just want to do it the gentlemanly way.

Demonicat was talking to me about Absinthe and he told me you could buy it off the docks in Oido for very cheap. Screws you up really good apperently.
I dunno for sure though. I have basically given up drinking with my lifestyle change. That and pizza and chocolate and....*sigh* Hee hee.

I have been meaning to start a thread on this.
Expats and Absinthe, how much more Hemingway-esque can you get?

I also brought a bottle back from Prague around 6 years ago. Had no problems through customs in Madrid, London, Chicago, Vancouver, and Seoul.

Some questions. Does it go bad? I mean, like schnapps would. Also, has anyone actually drunk it? How much? And what are the intoxication levels, compared with, say, tequila shots or a glass of Scotch on the rocks? I've heard there is some hallucinogenic aspect to it. Can anyone describe what this means in greater detail? Also, about preparing it- something about a sugar cube and an upturned spoon?

It's been sitting in my liquor cabinet for years, just staring at me, mocking me. I need to wrestle her down and bring her to the mat. I just want to do it the gentlemanly way.

Absinthe usually has a much higher alcohol content than scotch or tequilla. Probably in the range of 70%-80% (140-160 proof). This is why it is mixed with five parts water. There is a special spoon that rests on top of your glass that holds a sugar cube. Cold water is poured very slowly over the sugar cube and into the glass. If you don't have the spoon you could just dissolve the sugar in the water before you pour it in the absinthe (sugar wont dissolve in alcohol).

Some questions. Does it go bad? I mean, like schnapps would. Also, has anyone actually drunk it? How much? And what are the intoxication levels, compared with, say, tequila shots or a glass of Scotch on the rocks? I've heard there is some hallucinogenic aspect to it. Can anyone describe what this means in greater detail? Also, about preparing it- something about a sugar cube and an upturned spoon?

It's been sitting in my liquor cabinet for years, just staring at me, mocking me. I need to wrestle her down and bring her to the mat. I just want to do it the gentlemanly way.

Firstly I'm guessing that absinthe won't go bad. Isn't alcohol an excellent preservative? The alcohol level found in absinthe should be enough to preserve it for a long, long time. Some very old bottles get sold for lots of money so it seems the stuff lasts a while.

As to the effects...I've drunk a couple of brands, varying quantities, by itself and with other 'things'. I don't think hallucinogenic is the right word for the effects (psychoactive maybe). For me it usually produces a poetic kind of drunkeness marked by a perculiar clarity of thought, an increase in the desire and ability to compose dialogue and a certain sense of calm. This is different to most alcohol. Another constant for me occurs in the sleep afterwards where my dreams get filled with really vivid, dark, writhing Goya type imagery. I can see why it was so popular with poets and artists...But...That's when I drink it by itself. If I mix it with other alcoholic things it tends to just get me really drunk. Mixing it with other non-alcoholic 'things' however has proved to be interesting...real interesting.

Perhaps absinthe may become hallucinogenic if the thujone content of a particular bottle is high. The brands I tried had thujone levels considered acceptable by Australian regulations which are not as high as in other parts of the world and definately not the older recipes. I've drunk a fair bit of it but realistically it is hard to consume a lot of actual thujone when it is contained in such a potent alcoholic brew. The sugar burning ritual might help the cause: burning off some of the alcohol to improve the alcohol to thujone ratio.

The sugar cube and cold water way is definately what I'd recommend. Straight it can be almost like ipecac solution. Done properly it is a tasty drink. My best experience with it came from very slowly drinking a whole lot of it. My worst experience came from quickly slamming a single shot glass of it.

One thing to note for the people considering trying to make absinthe is that thujone and wormwood are not the same thing. It's the thujone you want, not the wormwood. I cannot remember the details but there is a particular method to extract the thujone from wormwood. Interestingly, not all absinthe brands do this and hence contain no actual active thujone. I am lead to believe that these fail to turn that milky white colour when mixed with water. You can make a wormwood brew but I wouldn't recommend it.

HapKi: If you've got a bottle. Go for it.

Her's a couple of youtube vids showing you the preffered ways to do it

Google or Wiki absinthe and you will see it's all a bunch of hype. There is not enough thujone to produce ANY effects in ANY of the marketed brands, and you should be happy for that because it's not a nice chemical. Absinthe got it's reputation simply because it was hyper-strong and thus loved by the bohemian set. It's rubbish rotgut, and real absinthe will be milky, not green. So if your booze looks green you've got some bad product from Chernobyl. No, seriously. It was originally banned in part because of all the nasty chemicals unscrupulous distilllers used to make it pretty.

Google or Wiki absinthe and you will see it's all a bunch of hype. There is not enough thujone to produce ANY effects in ANY of the marketed brands, and you should be happy for that because it's not a nice chemical. Absinthe got it's reputation simply because it was hyper-strong and thus loved by the bohemian set. It's rubbish rotgut, and real absinthe will be milky, not green. So if your booze looks green you've got some bad product from Chernobyl. No, seriously. It was originally banned in part because of all the nasty chemicals unscrupulous distilllers used to make it pretty.

Absinthe. Owned.

Game. Set. Match.

Absinthe is usually green but can also be clear or red. It turns milky when water is added. You are correct about the hype. The effects are minimal so people who watch From Hell and think they will hallucinate will be dissapointed.